


The Prince and the Crow

by AceofDreams



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Fairy Tale Retellings, M/M, fairgameweek2020, ish, young Yang and Ruby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-22 20:34:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23266681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceofDreams/pseuds/AceofDreams
Summary: Day 7: FreeQrow tells the girls a bedtime story about an oddly familiar pair of princes. A retelling of The Frog Prince.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37





	The Prince and the Crow

There once was a handsome young prince, who was beloved by all in his land. The townsfolk sang his praises, talking of eyes that shone like a light in the darkness of the world, and of a kind heart that comforted all forms of life. To them, there was no one more worthy than their prince.

The prince, however, did not feel this way. It was true that he was loved by both children and animals, and that he showed exceptional luck, but that wasn’t what he wanted, what he dreamed of. The prince wanted to be in love. He was so used to the people around him adoring him, but he wanted to feel real love. He didn’t want someone who constantly sung his praises or swore he could do no wrong. He wanted someone who would see his mistakes and accept them, not try to turn them into some false victory. And yet, he could find no one like this.

The animals were the only ones he could truly consider friends. They would visit him while he walked through the woods, sharing their stories and listening to his. It was the one constant in his life that he actually enjoyed. He could tell each animal apart and they knew their distinctive personalities. It was for this reason that he was startled one day to find a sleek, black crow staring down at him.

“Hello there, little crow. Are you new to the area?”

The prince held out his arm and the crow glided down and settled upon it.

“My name is Clover, what’s your name?” The prince smiled sweetly at the bird.

“Qrow.” The bird squawked, staring up at the prince.

“A crow named crow?”

“I was not always a crow.”

The prince’s eyebrows raised. “Pardon? What exactly do you mean?”

“I was once a human prince like you, but I was cursed for ruining a witch’s potion. I did not mean to do so, it was only a case of bad luck, but the witch would not hear my excuses. She cursed me into my namesake, and told me I could only transform back if a human prince was to kiss me.”

Clover stared, wide-eyed. “I have heard of witches before, but I didn’t believe they still existed. Is this all true?”

“Alas, it is true.” The crow shook his wings sadly. “Tell me, prince, would you break my curse? I would be honored to be saved by such a handsome, kind soul.”

The prince was not one to leave someone in need, even if their request sounded a bit absurd. “Very well,” he said, “I will try and break your curse.”

He leaned in, softly kissing the crow’s head. Suddenly, a cloud of smoke obscured his vision and he felt the weight of the crow leave his arm.

“It worked!”

A rough, male voice shouted through the smoke, causing the prince to jump. The smoke then disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, revealing a young man standing only two feet away.

The man’s hair shone as black as the crow’s feathers, and he was covered in royal garb. His red eyes met the prince’s and the prince felt himself unable to look away.

“You were...”

The man swept forward, embracing the prince. “You saved me! How can I ever thank you?”

The emotion behind the man’s words left the prince breathless, and he struggled to find his voice. “There is no thanks required, but...” He trailed off. He had never met another prince before and he felt himself hoping that he had finally found someone who could look past his title to finally see him.

“Oh, but I simply cannot leave without giving proper thanks for your good deed. Hey, prince.” The former crow’s smile had shifted to something more michevious. “How about I thank you by giving you a proper kiss this time?”

The prince let out a wheeze as his face flushed red. “That would be... I mean... Very well,” he coughed, trying to cover up his stammering. “If you wish.”

And so, the two princes fell in love, and Prince Clover was never lonely again. The end.

“That’s it?”

Yang was hanging out of her bed, a pout on her face.

“I want another story,” Ruby yelled from beside her sister.

“That story wasn’t enough for you?” Qrow asked, placing a hand on his chest in mock offense. “I put my heart and soul into giving you two the bedtime story to end all bedtime stories and all you do is demand another?”

“I wanna hear about fights!” Yang whined.

“Yeah, fights!” Ruby echoed. “And cool weapons!”

“It just so happens that I have a story that fulfills both of those requests.”

The three turned to face the newcomer.

“Uncle Clover!”

Qrow rolled his eyes as his nieces jumped out of bed, wrapping themselves around his husband’s ankles. “If you want Uncle Clover to tell you a story, then you need to get back in bed like good little huntresses.”

Clover took careful steps into the room, barely hindered by the new weights on his legs. “He’s right, you know. We can’t have a bedtime story if you two aren’t in bed.”

The two girls pouted, but scrambled off of his legs back into bed.

“Story time now?” Yang asked, her eyes shining.

“Yup,” Clover replied, settling down next to Qrow. “You’ll want to stick around for this one,” he told his husband with a wink.

“I guess I can make time for you, O great storyteller.” Qrow rolled his eyes, a smile on his face.

Clover simply laughed.

“Our story begins with a dusty old crow...”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while back to be used for Day 3, which I originally planned to contain several retellings, but I ended up going with other ideas and figured I'd share this today instead.


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